ORIGIMAGIC C4 Plus

The ORIGIMAGIC C4 Plus is a 5-inch-square mini PC built around the AMD Ryzen 5 3501U, a 15W quad-core chip with Radeon Vega 8 graphics. Two Gigabit Ethernet jacks sit on the back panel next to HDMI and DisplayPort, and the carton includes a VESA bracket for hanging the box behind a monitor. It ships with 8GB of DDR4 and a 256GB M.2 drive, both upgradable, and Windows 11 Pro is pre-installed.

Pros and Cons

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ORIGIMAGIC C4 Plus Comparison Chart

	ORIGIMAGIC C4 Plus	ORIGIMAGIC C4 Plus
Price	List Price: $299.99 Amazon Prices: Loading prices...	List Price: $202.00 Amazon Prices: Loading prices...
Version	8GB/256GB NVMe	8GB/256GB SATA
Performance Rating	2.8	2.8
Operating System	Windows 11 Pro	Windows 11 Pro
Processor	Quad-core 2.10 Ghz (max 3.70 Ghz) AMD Ryzen 5 3501U	Quad-core 2.10 Ghz (max 3.70 Ghz) AMD Ryzen 5 3501U
GPU	Integrated Radeon RX Vega8 Graphics	Integrated Radeon RX Vega8 Graphics
RAM	8 GB DDR4 SO-DIMM, 2-channel (2x SO-DIMM, up to 32GB)	8 GB DDR4 SO-DIMM, 2-channel (2x SO-DIMM, up to 32GB)
Internal Storage	256 GB NVMe SSD	256 GB SATA SSD
Dimensions width x length x thickness	5.04 x 5 x 1.69 inches (128.02 x 127 x 42.93 mm)	5.04 x 5 x 1.69 inches (128.02 x 127 x 42.93 mm)
Weight	unknown	unknown
WiFi	Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac)	Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac)
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 5.0	Bluetooth 5.0
Ethernet	2 Ethernet ports at 1 Gbps	2 Ethernet ports at 1 Gbps
HDMI	1 Full-Size HDMI Port	1 Full-Size HDMI Port
DisplayPort	1 DisplayPort	1 DisplayPort
VGA	No VGA Ports	No VGA Ports
USB Ports	1 USB 2.0, 3 USB 3, 1 USB-C 3x USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gbps), 1x USB 2.0, 1x USB-C (5Gbps data, 1080p video)	1 USB 2.0, 3 USB 3, 1 USB-C 3x USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gbps), 1x USB 2.0, 1x USB-C (5Gbps data, 1080p video)
Thunderbolt Ports	No	No
OCuLink	No	No
Internal SATA Ports	No SATA ports	No SATA ports
Card Reader	No Card Reader	No Card Reader
Headphone Jack	combo	combo
Fanless	No	No
VESA Mount	Yes	Yes
In the Box	Mini PC, power adapter (19V/3.42A), HDMI cable, VESA mount, manual	Mini PC, power adapter (19V/3.42A), HDMI cable, VESA mount, manual
Expandability	Up to 32GB DDR4 (2x SO-DIMM). Second M.2 2280 slot free, NVMe PCIe 3.0 x4 up to 4TB.	Up to 32GB DDR4 (2x SO-DIMM). Second M.2 2280 slot free, NVMe PCIe 3.0 x4 up to 4TB.

The chip is a 2026 reissue of a 2019 design

AMD lists the Ryzen 5 3501U with a Q2 2026 launch date, four cores, eight threads, a 2.1 GHz base clock, a 3.7 GHz boost, 4MB of L3 cache, and a 15W default TDP configurable between 12W and 35W (AMD product page). The same page puts the CPU cores on a 12nm process, which is the Zen+ generation AMD shipped in 2019, and pairs them with Radeon Vega 8 graphics running at 1200 MHz. Some retail spec tables call the chip a Ryzen 5 3500U; the product titles and AMD’s own page say 3501U.

PassMark’s database gives the 3501U a CPU Mark of 6578 and a single-thread rating of 2016 from six submitted samples (cpubenchmark.net). The Ryzen 5 3550H in the ORIGIMAGIC COMET C4 sits at 7610 in the same database, and that box lists between the two C4 Plus configurations while carrying 16GB of memory and a 512GB drive. Against the $299.99 NVMe configuration, the C4 Plus asks more for less CPU and half the memory, so the second Ethernet port has to be the reason you are buying. The cheaper SATA configuration undercuts the COMET C4, and there the extra NIC costs you CPU rather than money.

Ports, memory, and what upgrades are possible

The rear panel carries the DC barrel jack, both RJ45 jacks on Realtek RTL8111H controllers, HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort, one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port, and one USB 2.0 port. The front face holds two more USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, a USB-C port, a 3.5mm combo audio jack, and the power button. HDMI and DisplayPort each drive 4K at 60Hz; the USB-C port is limited to 5Gbps of data and 1080p of video, so a third screen runs at the lower resolution.

One 8GB DDR4 SO-DIMM ships installed with the second slot free, and the pair tops out at 32GB. There are two M.2 2280 slots: the 256GB boot drive fills one (SATA on the cheaper configuration, NVMe on the other) and the free slot takes an NVMe PCIe 3.0 x4 drive of up to 4TB. ORIGIMAGIC does not list a 2.5-inch bay; the bottom cover has a holder for a 2.5-inch drive, but no SATA cable or mounting screws come in the box. Wireless is WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0.

Who this box suits

Two Gigabit ports on a machine this small and this cheap is the argument for the C4 Plus. A small OPNsense or pfSense router, a firewall in front of a home network, or a lightweight file server all want a second NIC, and buying one on a card costs money and space that a 5-inch box does not have. The 15W chip and the 32GB memory ceiling are adequate for that kind of always-on, low-load duty.

As a general desktop it is harder to justify. The COMET C4 gives more CPU and ships with 16GB and a 512GB drive while listing under the $299.99 NVMe configuration, and anyone who needs WiFi 6E or a faster chip should look at a newer model such as the ORIGIMAGIC A1. The CPU figures above come from AMD’s specifications and PassMark’s database. In a hands-on test of this model, Carey Holzman measured Cinebench scores of 3104 multi-core and 919 single-core (details under Reviewer Insights). Starry Hope’s Mini PC Comparison Chart lines these specs up against the rest of the catalog.

Reviewer Insights

Carey Holzman

Carey Holzman bought the 8GB/256GB SATA configuration, opened it, and did a clean Windows 11 Pro install on camera. Inside he found one memory module with a second socket free, the boot drive in a slot labeled SATA, and a free slot labeled NVMe: “Another M.2 slot that says NVMe, but it does not include the screw.” The bottom cover, which comes off after removing four screws underneath, has a 2.5-inch drive holder with no cable or screws, and he suggested a USB-to-SATA cable instead. After the reinstall, the only missing drivers were AMD graphics and chipset, which AMD’s Adrenalin installer supplied: “We don’t need any drivers from the manufacturer.” He could hear the fan only up close (“you’d have to have your ear right up against it”), but said “there’s quite a bit of heat coming off of the top of this computer.”

In a follow-up stream a week later, he benchmarked the same unit. Cinebench gave 3104 multi-core and 919 single-core (“there you’ll see 3104 and 919”), and he said machines with the same CPU should all score about the same. Under load, “core number one was the hottest at 85.6” for a moment, the average sat closer to the 60s, and “when it was idling, it was only in the mid-40s.” The fan stayed quiet throughout. A viewer pointed out that the C4 Plus runs a lower power limit than the other two Ryzen 5 3501U mini PCs in his series: “The other two had a max package power of 35 watts instead of 25 watts.” The viewer added that the Cinebench multi-core score is low as a result. Holzman rebooted into the BIOS on stream and found only balanced and quiet power modes, with no setting to raise the wattage (“it looks like they’ve got it locked in”). He would not raise it anyway because the case already runs warm: “I definitely wouldn’t want to upgrade the wattage on this if I could.” CrystalDiskInfo identified the boot drive as a SATA SSD, which read at about 550 MB/s and wrote at 475 MB/s.

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